Caricature of Intimacy
by merryfortune
Summary: Reiji has developed a special interest in a television program from the XYZ Dimension and Shun, wanting to be supportive despite the conflicting feelings he has towards said program, tries to engage Reiji in said special interest. [post canon; full story notes inside]


**Caricature of Intimacy**

 **[AN: We've reached PEAK self-indulgence, lads.]**

 **[AN: Explanation of the title. This is a sequel to "Unconventional Intimacy (What You Show Me)" so I wanted to match theme aND because I've started to sing lyrics "Build God and Then We'll Talk" by Panic! At The Disco" incorrectly ("unconventional intimacy" over "a caricature of intimacy" so I'm actually parodying p!atd lyrics here bUT also, again, I feel like I've completely destroyed Reiji and Shun's canon personalities in this fic. (So, they've become caricatures of canon lol) Enjoy. And no, you don't have to have read "Unconventional Intimacy" to know what's going on but it does elaborate on autistic!Reiji.]**

Shun flinched when the door opened before he could even knock. Reiji had eagerly swung it open and Shun came inside

'Right on time.' Reiji commented, chipper.

'How did you…? I hadn't even…?' Shun glanced around; trying to tell if there had been a peep hole in the door or something.

'I was alerted of your presence from my staff at the front desk. I then assumed how long you'd be from there and given your dislike of enclosed spaces, I also assumed you would take the stairs so I factored that in but perhaps, I should have just waited for you to knock.' Reiji rambled.

He swept his arm back. 'Welcome to my private quarters.'

'Thank you for having me.' Shun replied. He left his shoes at the door.

'Allow me to show you around; what's mine is yours to borrow. I don't mind. I just request you put it back exactly where you found it. If you cannot recall where it goes, I'm happy to correct you. I dislike disorder.'

'Got it.'

Reiji led Shun around his private floor of the Leo Corporation Tower. It felt like a level in apartment building than a floor attached to a corporate space. Still, it was apparent that it was a neutral place between business and home. It didn't quite have the feel of a lived-in house nor the feel of a function space. It was a good mix of both and neither. Or maybe, that was just Reiji's preference. Shun couldn't tell.

The rooms were dimly lit and it took a little bit of time for Shun to adjust. Add in the black and grey colour scheme of the walls and decorations, he soon realised that everything was rather soft for the eyes. He didn't mind. He could appreciate that.

By the conclusion of the little tour, Reiji was back to acting uncharacteristically excited; well, as excited as it gets to him. Those furtive half smiles, those bright eyes shining behind masking glasses. That sort of thing. Shun was trying to match Reiji's enthusiasm because it was the polite thing to do but honestly? It was a tad hard.

He and Reiji sat down on the pleather lounge in his open living space. Both had an arm to themselves and a little bit of distance between them. Reiji turned the television on and it became the brightest thing in the room. It was already on the DVD channel.

A light-hearted theme song began to blast; half way through the chorus. Reiji flushed, becoming a little sheepish, embarrassed even.

'I miss this show, to be honest.' Shun admitted. 'Was it difficult tracking down useable copies of it?'

'Not really.' Reiji replied, adjusting his glasses. He turned huffy. 'I still can't believe you didn't introduce me to this series earlier.'

'Why? Because I'm from the XZY Dimension…?' Shun asked.

'Well, yes…' Reiji embarrassedly admitted.

'I honestly didn't think it would be up something you would be interested in.' Shun defended himself. 'I thought you'd prefer a long psychological thriller over, well, a kids' program.'

'It is not a "kids program" – it is family entertainment suitable for all ages.' Reiji snapped.

'Whatever you say.' Shun rolled his eyes in good nature. His eyes wandered back to the television screen. Reiji's remote hovered over the play button. 'Before we start, can I ask why you've formed such an attachment to D.D. Esper Robin?'

Shun left out the part in mentioning that he, personally, saw little to no appeal in it. An opinion of the show that he's held since he was younger and saw it premier on the small screen.

'…Once I start talking, I won't stop…'

'I don't mind. That's why I'm here. I want to get to know those parts of you, Reiji. I want to see things from your perspective. I'll try my best to listen and look attentive because I want to be. If you think I'm not, that's not true.'

Reiji smiled. 'Well, I've been rehearsing, I'm not going to lie so I will try to be succinct. Most simply, it's because Robin reminds me of me.'

'Different Dimension. Oh yeah, you both use D.D. decks.' Shun piped up idly.

Reiji shot him a dirty look. 'That is one reason but there are others in which he reminds me of myself.'

Shun nodded; understanding better what Reiji meant this way.

'His lack of volume control, he rocks and flaps, arguably I suppose, his seemingly disjointed thinking and logic, the unusual concepts of friendship, and the way he interacts with others… I find him highly relatable and not in the way that I believe the writers intended. In my opinion, he can be read as autistic and, at this point, I refuse to read him as anything else.

'But then there is the setting; ever since I was a child, I've been fascinated by science fiction and I enjoy this almost parodic take on the genre and how it blends fantasy; something else I've always loved.'

Reiji's voice had grown a tad louder now as his passion heated his words. He was also using his hands more to express and elaborate points. He continued and Shun's interest in what Reiji was saying increased.

'The plot, yes, leaves much to be desired given the intended audience but I don't mind dissecting every scene for symbolism that was likely unintended and how it adds to the formulaic plot. But its oddly safe. Knowing what's going next even if I haven't watched the next episodes; but, admittedly, at this point I have consumed all canon content I have found in far too much time that I've devoted to researching it and its history.

'Really, it is the perfect combination of multiple things that has caused me to hyper-fixate on it. I would even go as far to describe D.D. Esper Robin as a special interest of mine as every non-working moment, I will admit, has become consumed by me recalling a scene or pondering over my own character analyses.'

Reiji appeared to have run out of breath or maybe, he had concluded his speech. He stared avidly away from both shun and the television. His cheeks were red but his breathing seemed normal.

'I told you.' he huffed. 'Once I start, I find it immensely difficult to conclude. I'm struggling right now, not to elaborate on those character analyses. And the only reason I'm not is because I don't know how much of the show you've watched and I don't want to accidentally spoil you.'

'Thank you for your consideration.' Shun replied; a subtle note of sarcasm in his voice.

'You're welcome.' Reiji replied. He appeared to have missed the sarcasm in Shun's tone. His leg began to bounce. 'Are you ready to begin?'

'Yep.'

'Now, I'm not expecting total attention to it but I would appreciate it if you don't talk during the show; although, it is forgivable during the opening and ending credits.'

'I can't stand people who talk during movies, to be honest.'

'I'm glad we have an understanding then.'

Reiji clicked the button and the theme song cut off. The screen went from bright and bubbly to complete blackness. There was a moment where the DVD player whirred and then, the opening warning began. Before long, the iconic first opening monologue of the pilot episode appeared on screen: slanted, white text scrolling upwards into infinity; set against the cosmos and eventually, feeding into a celestial blue wormhole. Said wormhole would soon become, Robin's home planet as the camera panned out and the wormhole became the ocean in a neat trick.

Watching the opening episode brought back a lot of memories for Shun. He had been fourteen when the premier episode debuted. Ruri had been eleven but nevertheless, she had been terrified by the special effects and concept. Because of that, Shun very rarely watched it since most of the time, he had to share the television with Ruri and he cared about her opinion. Whilst it hadn't had a deep impact on him, it most certainly had had a deep impact on pop culture of the time.

It became an instant classic, beloved by people of all age groups. Even Shun had gotten his hands on bits and pieces of random Robin merchandise through his friends. He recalled that Yuto had a total geek for Esper Robin phase; apparently, so he's been told. It had become an inescapable fad and remained that way right up until the Academia Invasion. People lost a lot of morale when Robin – no, Okudaira Fuya – was among one of the first of the Resistance to fall.

That's why watching it was kind of hard. The special effects were super cheesy; he could totally see the harnesses on Robin but still. It brought back a lot of corrupted, peace time memories that Shun would have preferred to ignore but ignoring these feelings and memories isn't healthy. He admits that. Which is why he's glad that he's watching this show with Reiji. He's rewriting a few of those memories; or at least, he's now been given the opportunity to try.

D. D. Esper Robin: no longer an empty fad to Shun, at least that's what he'll try and tell himself, but rather his boyfriend's special interest and therefore not something bad.

He sneaked a glance at Reiji. He was utterly absorbed by the program. He wasn't smiling but his whole-body language was completely uplifted. He was rocking his thumb over a protrusion on his fidget cube; leg bouncing. He was wholly concentrated on the screen though. He was definitely a lot freer here than in public. It was something of an honour for Shun to see this part of Reiji; though, he'd seen these parts of him plenty of times before. But still, it did make a funny warm feeling well up inside of him nonetheless.

An hour and almost a half – that would be four episodes later – the screen turned blank. It was time to switch over to the next disc. Reiji muted the television. He turned his head to Shun and made extravagantly intense eye contact.

'I noticed you staring… at me. Do I have something on my face?' he asked.

'Yeah.' Shun said.

Reiji frowned. 'Where?' He touched over his face.

'Just a really cute look, that's all.'

'So that was your idea of a joke?'

'Yeah.'

'You suck at telling jokes.'

'I know.'

'Hey…?'

'Yes?'

'Can we, um, kiss?'

Shun's face became hued a pale crimson. Reiji averted his gaze; a blush spreading through his cheeks also. Affection was cumbersome between each other at the best of times. Now was no different.

'Okay.' Reiji replied, softly and after much deliberation.

They met each other half way on the lounge. Their hands tumbled over one another as they tried not invade personal space too much. Shun tilted his head one way and Reiji mimicked in reverse. Their faces awkwardly slotted together. Their lips pressed upon one another oddly. Shun closed his eyes. Reiji did not but he did furrow his brows as he wondered if he was doing this right. Luckily, Shun led and he did not pressure Reiji with anything he might find uncomfortable. It was a very surface kiss: short but quite nice. It was a strange smush of lips but it was not entirely unpleasant.

A sigh escaped Shun's lips as he pulled back. Reiji turned away. His fingers curling beneath his palm. Shun's fingertips brushed over Reiji's knuckles as he drew back.

'Thank you, that was nice.' Shun praised, half-smiled.

'You're welcome.' Reiji replied.

'Want to move onto disc two? I never saw episode five, I wanna see if they can rescue that golem character.'

'His name is Ironhammer the Giant.' Reiji corrected.

Shun almost laughed.

'And thank you for taking genuine interest in it though, it means a lot to me.'

'My pleasure.'

Silence used to be the most uncomfortable thing that could settle between them. It was intense. It was the calm before the two would clash and act out all their theories about what was going on behind the other's mind. What kind of rage the other was hiding. Now?

Silence was companionable. It was a manifest of their new understanding between each other. There were still thousands of words behind their minds in this silence but no longer was it words trying to anticipate what sort of verbal violence was about to brew. Now, it was words that were trying to gently bridge the gap between them: had he said the wrong thing replaced thoughts of naturally assuming authority and superiority over the other.

The two were able to get through all of season one. Shun enjoyed himself. He hadn't expected to but he did. Soon, it was time for him to chuff off; he was taking night classes at a local university which were supposed to help him get back on track with high school so he could eventually, get into university slightly easier than if he were to just enter as a mature age student.

'Are you doing anything around this time, next Saturday?' Shun asked as Reiji led him to the door.

'I'm looking after Reira; at the main penthouse. Mother has business she has to attend to.' Reiji replied.

'Can I come around? I wouldn't mind helping to sit Reira… and we could start season two together, if you like. But, if not, can I drop by for, like, ten minutes? I kind of had an idea. I want to give you a something.' Shun explained.

'I wouldn't mind. I don't believe Reira or Mother would have any qualms with you coming over… But, what kind of something to give me?'

'A gift.' Shun embarrassedly admitted.

'Why do you want to give me a gift?' Reiji asked, a tad incredulous.

'Because you're my boyfriend and I love you and that's how I want to express said love since we're both emotionally stunted humans.'

Reiji sighed. 'Alright then. I look forward to receiving this gift next week. If you like, I can have a driver pick you up from your flat. If that, suits you, of course.'

'Yeah, sure, why not?' Shun rambled.

'I should probably ask then; do you intend to stay the night?' Reiji asked.

'I wasn't but if your open to it…' Shun replied.

'I wouldn't mind. I'd prefer it. I want to spend as much time as possible with you.'

'So, do I.'

Both youths blushed.

'Well, have a good class, Shun. I hope the bus is on time.' Reiji said as he opened the door for Shun.

Shun half walked through the doorframe, he turned back and smiled.

'Thank you for inviting me here today, Reiji. I really enjoyed our date. It was a good idea.' Shun said. 'Well, have a good night, yourself. See you next week.'

'I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. I look forward to next week also.'

Shun waved half-heartedly and Reiji did also. Shun walked off and Reiji closed the door behind him. He smiled to himself. Nothing was wrong. It was nice to have this sort of domesticity in his life. He couldn't wait for next week. He was curious as to what Shun wanted to give him.

The week that followed was dreadfully slow and they had rung each other a few times throughout. Just simple chats and Shun was giving no hints as to what it was that he was going to give Reiji come Saturday. It was really starting to rev Reiji up. He just wanted to know but fortunately, Saturday evening had come and Shun was coming up to the penthouse shortly.

Reira was in her crib with a few toys: stuffed animals, a mobile, and some building blocks. She was happily gurgling and hugging her toys. She wouldn't notice if Reiji went to the door for a few minutes, surely. He hoped anyway.

Reiji opened the door and Shun flinched as it had opened before he could even knock.

'Hello.' Reiji greeted. 'Come inside, Reira's been in a good mood all day. How have you been?'

'Busy.' Shun huffed. 'It took a lot more effort to get you this gift than I had envisioned but I did it.'

'Oh. I see.'

Shun stepped inside. It was a lot brighter here than at Reiji's private quarters at the Leo Corporation Tower. It was apparent this was the home of a matriarch. Still, it was oddly welcoming. Not as cold as Shun had expected.

Shun put his hands in his coat pockets.

'Do you want your gift now?' he asked as Reiji led him to the living space.

'Yes.' Reiji said, abruptly.

'Thought so.' Shun drew his hand out. 'I want you to have this. I don't want it anymore. I'm sorry it's a hand-me-down but, I thought you could appreciate the sentiment, at the very least.'

Shun handed over a small figurine of D.D. Esper Robin wielding his sword.

'I got it on my fourteenth birthday; I don't even remember who got it for me. I didn't even really want it in the first place but it was just a good generic gift… you know? Well, here.'

Reiji inspected the figurine. It was a little bit discoloured and disfigured but from a distance, it was hard to place too many of its flaws. He held onto its tightly. His fingers elegantly coiling around its torso; the black platform it stood on blooming from the bottom of Reiji's hand.

'Thank you, Shun.' Reiji replied.

'I realise you'd probably prefer a new one but good luck finding one. They've been out of production now for years and most of the ones made pre-Invasion are probably broken. But its lucky that I kept onto that one, huh?'

'Yes, I suppose so. How did you acquire it…?' Reiji asked.

'During the first wave of Invasion, I took Ruri home so we could grab supplies and whatnot before heading to the refugee camp in one of the Duel Arenas. I didn't really know what to bring but I kept thinking of the kids and how traumatised they'd be so I wanted to bring stuff for them. I grabbed a few stuffed toys and that figurine too. Anything that might make some kid a little bit happier, you know? So yeah, but when news got out of Okudaira's carding, I stashed it and some other useless stuff amongst all the miscellaneous stuff the Resistance kept. Tracking it was harder than anticipated but thankfully, my stuff was labelled and went untouched during the unpacking when the dimensions fused; apparently, Allen was s'posed to tell me to collect my stuff when the Resistance Base was put out commission but forgot to tell me.'

Reiji attempted to hand it back to Shun.

'Are you sure you want to give this to me? It sounds like it does have some significant sentimental value to you.'

'Only bad memories from the early Invasion… from before… I adjusted, for lack of a better word. Besides, I really want you to have it. I wanted to do something nice for you and this was the best I could muster.'

'Thank you, Shun. I'll treasure it.'

Reiji spoke awkwardly but sincerely. Shun flushed. He didn't really get why Reiji was making such a big deal of things but he was glad his present was accepted anyway. Shun smiled and Reiji's heart murmured.

'Hey…?' Reiji piped up awkwardly.

'Yes?' Shun blinked.

'May I kiss you?' Reiji asked.

'Okay.' Shun replied.

Reiji leaned forward first: completely bent on wanting to lead the initiative, it would appear. Shun didn't mind. Their faces slotted together and held their breath. Their kiss was a bump of their lips; trying to avoid excessive contact, either consciously or subconsciously. Reiji was a tad more aggressive than usual but his inexperience in kissing, unlike Shun who had dated others previous, was apparent but he showed hints of having learned something for Shun. It was a good kiss. Longer than usual.

Until, Reiji had pulled back for a breath. He smiled sadly, like he was disappointed. Shun became self-conscious.

'I sometimes forget,' Reiji began musingly, ignoring the slight panic spreading through Shun's eyes, 'because I associate you with many of my favourite textures that you're flesh like me.'

'Textures?' Shun replied, uncertain.

'Plastics, marble… did I ever tell you? I was a late diagnosis but looking back, it feels very obvious to me now. When I was a child, Mother gave me a bag of marbles but rather than play with them like she had taught me, I would line them up or just, plunge my hand into the bag because I loved the smoothness and textures. Sometimes, I feel like that with you. I want to know how you feel… may I touch your face?'

'I don't mind at all.' Shun replied. He recalled Reiji telling him that story before but it didn't seem worth to mention.

Reiji caressed the side of Shun's face. He had taut cheeks; a little rough and a little pale. He didn't mind but again, it was odd having his admittedly unrealistic ideas betrayed. Reiji smiled. Shun looked away. It was tranquil and sensual. Shun didn't mind being treated so elegantly; almost worshipped. He enjoyed it. It was quiet. But not for long.

Reira's scream pierced the air.

Both boys jumped out of their skins. Foreheads knocking together and becoming disoriented as they pulled away and into their spooked modes of thinking. Shun held his heart and breathed. He hadn't expected that. Nor had Reiji.

They pulled away and half-smiled at one another. It was a little funny.

 **:**

 **AN: Quick Reira headcanon here because its relevant. I'm pretty certain post-canon Reira grows up to be trans-masculine non-binary and since in Unconventional Intimacy, I portrayed him as autistic there, you can bet your bracelets that he remains autistic in this post-canon fic too.**

 **** If I have portrayed autism insensitively in anyway, please let me know so I can take down this fic or make amendments as necessary.**


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